How to describe the final verdict of the court?
It could only be described as unsatisfactory for everyone.
Because the final verdict allowed for contract termination, and the penalty for breach of contract was not unreasonable; instead of being waived, the penalty was significantly reduced, from the initial fifty million yuan to five or six million yuan.
This outcome was naturally not satisfactory for the company.
After all, for "Zhou Bapi Company," earning fifty million was reduced to merely five million, representing a loss of forty-five million yuan. Whether the other party could afford fifty million was irrelevant to them.
Hu Meimei and the others were, of course, also unhappy.
In their view, the company already benefited greatly from the income split. Such an unreasonable contract should not have existed, nor should it have been deemed legal.
Moreover, due to the low profit-sharing ratio, even without their parents being a burden, they hadn't saved much money over the years. If they were forced to pay five or six million yuan in breach of contract penalties, their accumulated savings, which were meant for their retirement and funerals, would likely be depleted.
For some with larger expenses.
They might not even be able to scrape together the reduced penalty amount.
Theoretically, since neither party was satisfied, they should have continued to appeal to a higher court.
But in the end, Hu Meimei and the others compromised.
They were willing to pay the penalty to terminate the contract.
This was because they understood clearly that while the Jinghe Company could afford to drag out the proceedings, they could not. The company's lawsuit could be protracted for a year or two, and even with some losses, they would not be fatally wounded if they were still bound by the contract.
However, they had no such luxury of time.
As long as the contract remained unresolved, they could not deviate from it and seek work and income elsewhere without the company's knowledge.
In the entertainment industry, exposure and popularity were paramount, and a lack of visibility was a grave concern. If they remained out of the spotlight for an extended period, who would remember them? Why would people prefer infamy over obscurity? Because at least infamy offered exposure, which was far better than being completely ignored.
The worst fate wasn't being insulted in a post.
It was posting something and receiving no comments at all.
If they were to drag out the lawsuit with the company and have no work or exposure for a year or two, what would be the point even if they could eventually terminate the contract without paying the penalty?
Without their popularity and fan base,
Who would still be willing to hire them?
The entertainment industry was a brutal place. Popularity and traffic were key. People were opportunistic and gravitated towards whoever was trending. It was perfectly normal for those not in vogue to be barely noticed.
Therefore, for their future.
And to avoid further delays, which would give the company opportunities to retaliate, Hu Meimei and the others had no choice but to grudgingly agree to pay the penalty and terminate the contract.
After all, given the situation,
There was no room for regret.
However, that was for them. Ding Yun, on the other hand, could not terminate her contract because she simply could not afford the penalty.
The money the original owner had saved was partly spent on herself, and the majority was extorted by her parents. A million or so was used to buy a house, and another million or so was taken by them at a rate of fifty to sixty thousand yuan per month.
Even after Ding Yun sold all the few high-end jewelry and bags the original owner possessed to maintain appearances, the money in her hands.
Was not even enough to cover a fraction of the penalty.
Furthermore, even if her parents weren't involved and the original owner had spent nothing, she still couldn't afford the penalty, as she hadn't earned five million yuan in those five or six years.
The reason was simple: it was only then that Ding Yun discovered that in the entire company, only the original owner had signed a one-nine profit-sharing contract. Everyone else had signed at least a two-eight or three-seven contract. As for why this was the case:
The company's first contract offered to any signed artist was a one-nine profit split. However, most people were not foolish enough to sign it. Only then would the company offer a two-eight split contract. If an artist was particularly difficult to deal with, they might even offer a three-seven split contract. Anything higher was impossible, as the company was unwilling to incur further losses.
At the time of signing, the original owner had purely been seeking the guaranteed base salary of three thousand yuan, along with free food, accommodation, and social insurance and housing provident fund contributions, and had paid no attention to the profit split.
The company, being shrewd,
Naturally did not remind her or offer to change her contract, so her contract remained in effect.
Regardless, since Ding Yun could not produce the penalty money, and her parents would not pay it for her, Zhou E and the others had only two choices: either continue to appeal, or simply give up and let it go. Ideally, they should sever all ties with Ding Yun to avoid bearing joint liability and sharing the six million yuan penalty.
It was at this point that Xu Dayang began to regret.
He regretted his choice.
If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn't have caused trouble. If they hadn't sought to terminate the contract, then being put on ice or having no work would have been fine. At worst, he could still marry off his daughter for a bride price.
Anything would have been better than the current situation.
Having to bear over six million yuan in breach of contract penalties.
As for whether they could retract their decision not to terminate the contract, with the tables turned, it was no longer up to Zhou E and the others to decide.
The company, possibly seeking to make an example,
Directly began demanding the breach of contract penalty.
They even applied for forced execution.
They initiated forced execution against Ding Yun's assets and also against their ancestral home, seeking to seize properties.
At this point, their actions became much more dramatic.
They resorted to all sorts of pleading, accused the company of being shameless, and claimed that if the company wanted to enforce the judgment, they should only go after their daughter's assets, not theirs. Why should their property be seized?
Finally, they even publicly declared that they were severing all ties with Ding Yun, cutting off all contact, and told the company to find Ding Yun for any matters and that she could sell herself if she wished, but to leave them alone.
This inconsistent behavior undoubtedly further corroborated the earlier online revelations, indicating that Zhou E and Xu Dayang were not genuinely concerned for their daughter's well-being but merely saw her as a cash cow. The collapse of this cash cow was something they could not accept.
This led them to file lawsuits and stir up trouble.
Consequently, the entire family of three became public pariahs. The company, on the other hand, arrogantly went to Ding Yun's residence and emptied her room.
Only then did Ding Yun finally lose her patience.
And because her parents had revealed their true colors, she no longer had to worry about any misguided individuals preaching filial piety. Ding Yun immediately filed a lawsuit.
Suing the company for prior breach of contract.
Demanding compensation from the company.
As for evidence, Ding Yun found proof that the company had not paid her social insurance and housing provident fund for three years, as well as evidence that she had not received her base salary for two years and six months during her five years of employment. These were clearly stipulated in the contract.
Therefore, according to the contract,
It was indeed the Jinghe Company that had breached the contract first.
In addition, perhaps fearing that the previous evidence might not be sufficient for contract termination, Ding Yun also included evidence she had gathered during this period, showing that Jinghe经纪 Company had evaded taxes.
It was almost as if she was about to report them to the authorities.